NVIDIA CORP
For the period ended Oct 27, 2024. Filed Nov 20, 2024.
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A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.
Oct 27, 2024 · Filed Nov 20, 2024
What changed in Risk Factors?
Read the current filingPrevious report: 10-Q
Period ended 2024-07-28; filed 2024-08-28.
0001045810-24-000264
Item 1A. Risk FactorsCurrent report: 10-Q
Period ended 2024-10-27; filed 2024-11-20.
0001045810-24-000316
Item 1A. Risk FactorsThe baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.
Compared 47 previous paragraphs and 46 current paragraphs.
36 unchanged; 9 reworded; 1 added; 2 removed; 0 previous and 0 current paragraphs rearranged.
Tables are not compared: 0 previous and 0 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.
A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.
Added paragraphs (1)
Current report
In addition to export controls, the USG may impose restrictions on the import and sale of products that incorporate technologies developed or manufactured in whole or in part in China. For example, the USG is considering restrictions on the import and sale of certain automotive products in the United States, which if adopted and interpreted broadly, could impact our ability to develop and supply solutions for our automotive customers.
Removed paragraphs (2)
Previous report
We receive a significant amount of our revenue from a limited number of partners and distributors and we have a concentration of sales to customers who purchase directly or indirectly from us, and our revenue could be adversely affected if we lose or are prevented from selling to any of these customers.
Previous report
We receive a significant amount of our revenue from a limited number of customers within our distribution and partner network. Sales to direct Customers, A, B, C and D represented 14%,11%, 11% and 10% of total revenue, respectively, for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, all of which were primarily attributable to the Compute & Networking segment. With several of these channel partners, we are selling multiple products and systems in our portfolio through their channels. Our operating results depend on sales within our partner network, as well as the ability of these partners to sell products that incorporate our processors. We have a small number of partners that are involved in system integration with our key customers. As our system design becomes increasingly complex, system integrators may be unable to meet specifications of our key customers. Changes in our partners' or customers' business models or their ownership can reduce the number of partners available to us and harm our ability to sell our advanced data center systems to customers. In the future, these partners may decide to purchase fewer products, not to incorporate our products into their ecosystem, or to alter their purchasing patterns in some other way. Because most of our sales are made on a purchase order basis, our customers can generally cancel, change or delay product purchase commitments with little notice to us and without penalty. Our partners or customers may develop their own solutions; our customers may purchase products from our competitors; and our partners may discontinue sales or lose market share in the markets for which they purchase our products, all of which may alter partners’ or customers’ purchasing patterns. Many of our customers often do not purchase directly from us but purchase through multiple OEMs, ODMs, system integrators, distributors and other channel partners. For the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, two indirect customers which primarily purchase our products through system integrators and distributors, including through Customer B and Customer E, are estimated to each represent 10% or more of total revenue, attributable to the Compute & Networking segment. If end demand increases or our finished goods supply availability is concentrated near a quarter end, the system integrators, distributors and channel partners may have limited ability to increase their credit, which could impact the timing and amount of our revenue. The loss of any of our large customers, a significant reduction in purchases by them, our inability to sell to a customer due to U.S. or other countries’ trade restrictions or any difficulties in collecting accounts receivable would likely harm our financial condition and results of operations.
Reworded paragraphs (9)
Previous wording
Other than the risk factors listed below, there have been no material changes from the risk factors previously described under Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2024 and Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 28, 2024.
Current wording
Other than the risk factors listed below, there have been no material changes from the risk factors previously described under Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2024 and Item 1A of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended April 28, 2024 and July 28, 2024.
Previous wording
Purchasing or owning NVIDIA common stock involves investment risks including, but not limited to, the risks described in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2024, and Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 28, 2024, and below. Any one of those risks could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations or reputation, which could cause our stock price to decline. Additional risks, trends and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or reputation.
Current wording
Purchasing or owning NVIDIA common stock involves investment risks including, but not limited to, the risks described in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2024, and Item 1A of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended April 28, 2024 and July 28, 2024, and below. Any one of those risks could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations or reputation, which could cause our stock price to decline. Additional risks, trends and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or reputation.
Previous wording
We build finished products and maintain inventory in advance of anticipated demand. While we have in the past entered and may in the future enter into long-term supply agreements and capacity commitments, we may not be able to secure sufficient commitments for capacity to address our business needs, or our long-term demand expectations may change. Additionally, our ability to sell certain products has been and could be impeded if components necessary for the finished products are not available from third parties. This risk may increase as a result of our platform strategy. In periods of shortages impacting the semiconductor industry and/or limited supply or capacity in our supply chain, the lead times on orders for certain supply may be extended. We have previously experienced and may continue to experience extended lead times of more than 12 months. We have paid premiums and provided deposits to secure future supply and capacity, which have increased our product costs and may continue to do so. If our existing suppliers are unable to scale their capabilities to meet our supply needs, we may require additional sources of capacity, which may require additional deposits. We may not have the ability to reduce our supply commitments at the same rate or at all if our revenue declines.
Current wording
We build finished products and maintain inventory in advance of anticipated demand. While we have in the past entered and may in the future enter into long-term supply agreements and capacity commitments, we may not be able to secure sufficient commitments for capacity to address our business needs, or our long-term demand expectations may change. Additionally, our ability to sell certain products has been and could be impeded if components necessary for the finished products are not available from third parties. This risk may increase as a result of our platform strategy. In periods of shortages impacting the semiconductor industry and/or limited supply or capacity in our supply chain, the lead times on orders for certain supply may be extended. We have previously experienced and may continue to experience extended lead times of more than 12 months. We have paid premiums and provided deposits to secure future supply and capacity, which have increased our product costs and may continue to do so. If our existing suppliers are unable to scale their capabilities to meet our supply needs, we may require additional sources of capacity, which may require additional deposits. We may not have the ability to reduce our supply commitments at the same rate or at all if our revenue declines. Both Hopper and Blackwell systems have certain supply constraints, and the demand for Blackwell is expected to exceed supply for several quarters in fiscal year 2026.
Previous wording
Product transitions are complex and we often ship both new and prior architecture products simultaneously as our channel partners prepare to ship and support new products. We may be in various stages of transitioning the architectures of our Data Center, Gaming, Professional Visualization and Automotive products. The computing industry is experiencing a broader and faster launch cadence of accelerated computing platforms to meet a growing and diverse set of AI opportunities. We have introduced a new cadence of our Data Center architectures where we seek to complete a new GPU computing architecture each year and we are providing a greater variety of Data Center offerings. The increased frequency of these transitions and the larger number of products and product configurations may magnify the challenges associated with managing our supply and demand. Qualification time for new products, customers anticipating product transitions and channel partners reducing channel inventory of prior architectures ahead of new product introductions can reduce or create volatility in our revenue. We have experienced and may in the future experience reduced demand for current generation architectures when customers anticipate transitions, and we may be unable to sell multiple product architectures at the same time for current and future architecture transitions. If we are unable to execute our architectural transitions as planned for any reason, our financial results may be negatively impacted. The increased frequency and complexity of newly introduced products could result in unanticipated quality or production issues that could increase the magnitude of inventory provisions, warranty, or other costs or result in product delays. For example, we executed a change to the Blackwell GPU mask to improve production yield. Our gross margins in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 were negatively impacted by inventory provisions for low-yielding Blackwell material and they may continue to be impacted in the future.
Current wording
Product transitions are complex and we often ship both new and prior architecture products simultaneously as our channel partners prepare to ship and support new products. We may be in various stages of transitioning the architectures of our Data Center, Gaming, Professional Visualization and Automotive products. The computing industry is experiencing a broader and faster launch cadence of accelerated computing platforms to meet a growing and diverse set of AI opportunities. We have introduced a new architecture cadence of our Data Center solutions where we seek to complete a new computing architecture each year and we are providing a greater variety of Data Center offerings. The increased frequency of these transitions and the larger number of products and product configurations may magnify the challenges associated with managing our supply and demand. Qualification time for new products, customers anticipating product transitions and channel partners reducing channel inventory of prior architectures ahead of new product introductions can reduce or create volatility in our revenue. We have experienced and may in the future experience reduced demand for current generation architectures when customers anticipate transitions, and we may be unable to sell multiple product architectures at the same time for current and future architecture transitions. If we are unable to execute our architectural transitions as planned for any reason, our financial results may be negatively impacted. The increased frequency and complexity of newly introduced products could result in unanticipated quality or production issues that could increase the magnitude of inventory provisions, warranty, or other costs or result in product delays. For example, our gross margins in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 were negatively impacted by inventory provisions for low-yielding Blackwell material.
Previous wording
We incur significant engineering development resources for new products, and changes to our product roadmap may impact our ability to develop other products or adequately manage our supply chain cost. Customers may delay purchasing existing products as we increase the frequency of new products or may not be able to adopt our new products as fast as forecasted, both impacting the timing of our revenue and supply chain cost. While we have managed prior product transitions and have sold multiple product architectures at the same time, these transitions are difficult, may impair our ability to predict demand and impact our supply mix, and may cause us to incur additional costs. Many end customers often do not purchase directly from us but instead purchase indirectly through multiple OEMs, ODMs, system integrators, distributors, and other channel partners. As a result, the decisions made by our multiple OEMs, ODMs, system integrators, distributors, and other channel partners, and in response to changing market conditions and changes in end-user demand for our products, have impacted and could in the future continue to impact our ability to accurately forecast demand, particularly as they are based on estimates provided by various downstream parties.
Current wording
We incur significant engineering development resources for new products, and changes to our product roadmap may impact our ability to develop other products or adequately manage our supply chain cost. Customers may delay purchasing existing products as we increase the frequency of new products or may not be able to adopt our new products as fast as forecasted, both impacting the timing of our revenue and supply chain cost. While we have managed prior product transitions and have sold multiple product architectures at the same time, these transitions are difficult, may impair our ability to predict demand and impact our supply mix, and may cause us to incur additional costs. Our indirect customers purchase through multiple OEMs, ODMs, system integrators, distributors, and other channel partners. As a result, the decisions made by our multiple OEMs, ODMs, system integrators, distributors, and other channel partners, and in response to changing market conditions and changes in end-user demand for our products, have impacted and could in the future continue to impact our ability to accurately forecast demand, particularly as they are based on estimates provided by various downstream parties.
Previous wording
Demand estimates for our new products, applications, and services can be incorrect and create volatility in our revenue or supply levels. We may not be able to generate significant revenue from them. Recent technologies, such as generative AI models, have emerged, and while they have driven increased demand for Data Center, the long-term trajectory is unknown. Because our products may be used in multiple use cases and applications, it is difficult for us to estimate with any reasonable degree of precision the impact of generative AI models on our reported revenue or forecasted demand.
Current wording
Demand estimates for our products, applications, and services can be incorrect and create volatility in our revenue or supply levels. We may not be able to generate significant revenue from them. Advancements in accelerated computing and generative AI models, along with the growth in model complexity and scale, have driven increased demand for our Data Center systems. Because our products may be used in multiple use cases and applications, it is difficult for us to estimate with any reasonable degree of precision the impact of generative AI models on our reported revenue or forecasted demand.
Previous wording
We are subject to laws and regulations domestically and worldwide, affecting our operations in areas including, but not limited to, IP ownership and infringement; taxes; import and export requirements and tariffs; anti-corruption, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; business acquisitions; foreign exchange controls and cash repatriation restrictions; data privacy requirements; competition and antitrust; advertising; employment; product regulations; cybersecurity; environmental, health, and safety requirements; the responsible use of AI; sustainability; cryptocurrency; and consumer laws. Compliance with such requirements can be onerous and expensive, could impact our competitive position, and may negatively impact our business operations and ability to manufacture and ship our products. There can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers or agents will not violate applicable laws or the policies, controls, and procedures that we have designed to help ensure compliance with such laws, and violations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business, and damage to our reputation. Changes to the laws, rules and regulations to which we are subject, or changes to their interpretation and enforcement, could lead to materially greater compliance and other costs and/or further restrictions on our ability to manufacture and supply our products and operate our business. For example, we may face increased compliance costs as a result of changes or increases in antitrust legislation, regulation, administrative rule making, increased focus from regulators on cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks. Our position in markets relating to AI has led to increased interest in our business from regulators worldwide, including the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and China. For example, the French Competition Authority collected information from us regarding our business and competition in the graphics card and cloud service provider market as part of an ongoing inquiry into competition in those markets. We have also received requests for information from regulators in the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and South Korea regarding our sales of GPUs, our efforts to allocate supply, foundation models and our investments, partnerships and other agreements with companies developing foundation models, and we expect to receive additional requests for information in the future. Governments and regulators are considering, and in certain cases, have imposed restrictions on the hardware, software, and systems used to develop frontier foundation models and generative AI. For example, the EU AI Act was formally adopted in June 2024 and will be implemented in phases between now and 2030. The State of California, among other jurisdictions, is considering similar legislation. Restrictions under this and any …
Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.
Current wording
We are subject to laws and regulations domestically and worldwide, affecting our operations in areas including, but not limited to, IP ownership and infringement; taxes; import and export requirements and tariffs; anti-corruption, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; business acquisitions; foreign exchange controls and cash repatriation restrictions; data privacy requirements; competition and antitrust; advertising; employment; product regulations; cybersecurity; environmental, health, and safety requirements; the responsible use of AI; sustainability; cryptocurrency; and consumer laws. Compliance with such requirements can be onerous and expensive, could impact our competitive position, and may negatively impact our business operations and ability to manufacture and ship our products. There can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers or agents will not violate applicable laws or the policies, controls, and procedures that we have designed to help ensure compliance with such laws, and violations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business, and damage to our reputation. Changes to the laws, rules and regulations to which we are subject, or changes to their interpretation and enforcement, could lead to materially greater compliance and other costs and/or further restrictions on our ability to manufacture and supply our products and operate our business. For example, we may face increased compliance costs as a result of changes or increases in antitrust legislation, regulation, administrative rule making, increased focus from regulators on cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks. Our position in markets relating to AI has led to increased interest in our business from regulators worldwide, including the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and China. For example, the French Competition Authority collected information from us regarding our business and competition in the graphics card and cloud service provider market as part of an ongoing inquiry into competition in those markets. We have also received requests for information from regulators in the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and South Korea regarding our sales of GPUs and other NVIDIA products, our efforts to allocate supply, foundation models and our investments, partnerships and other agreements with companies developing foundation models, and we expect to receive additional requests for information in the future. Governments and regulators are considering, and in certain cases, have imposed restrictions on the hardware, software, and systems used to develop frontier foundation models and generative AI. For example, the EU AI Act was formally adopted in June 2024 and will be implemented in phases between now and 2030. The State of California, among other jurisdictions, is considering similar legislation. Restri…
Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.
Previous wording
In October 2023, the USG announced new and updated licensing requirements that became effective in our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 for exports to China and Country Groups D1, D4, and D5 (including but not limited to, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, but excluding Israel) of our products exceeding certain performance thresholds, including A100, A800, H100, H800, L4, L40, L40S and RTX 4090. The licensing requirements also apply to the export of products exceeding certain performance thresholds to a party headquartered in, or with an ultimate parent headquartered in, Country Group D5, including China. On October 23, 2023, the USG informed us that the licensing requirements were effective immediately for shipments of our A100, A800, H100, H800, and L40S products. We have not received licenses to ship these restricted products to China.
Current wording
In October 2023, the USG announced new and updated licensing requirements that became effective in our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 for exports to China and Country Groups D1, D4, and D5 (including but not limited to, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, but excluding Israel) of our products exceeding certain performance thresholds, including, but not limited to, the A100, A800, H100, H800, L4, L40, L40S and RTX 4090. The licensing requirements also apply to the export of products exceeding certain performance thresholds to a party headquartered in, or with an ultimate parent headquartered in, Country Group D5, including China. On October 23, 2023, the USG informed us that the licensing requirements were effective immediately for shipments of our A100, A800, H100, H800, and L40S products (removing the grace period granted by the official rule). Our upcoming Blackwell systems, such as GB200 NVL 72 and NVL 36 as well as B200 will also be subject to these requirements and therefore require a license for any shipment to certain entities and to China and Country Groups D1, D4, and D5, excluding Israel. To date, we have not received licenses to ship these restricted products to China.
Previous wording
Additionally, restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on the duration of gaming activities and access to games may adversely affect our Gaming revenue, and increased oversight of digital platform companies may adversely affect our Data Center revenue. The Chinese government may also impose restrictions on the sale to certain customers of our products, or any products containing components made by our partners and suppliers. For example, the Chinese government announced restrictions relating to certain sales of products containing certain products made by Micron, a supplier of ours. As another example, an agency of the Chinese government announced an Action Plan that endorses new standards regarding the compute performance per watt and per memory bandwidth of accelerators used in new and renovated data centers in China. If the Chinese government modifies or implements the Action Plan in a way that effectively prevents us from being able to design products to meet the new standard, this may restrict the ability of customers to use some of our data center products and may have a material and adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Further restrictions on our products or the products of our suppliers could negatively impact our business and financial results.
Current wording
Additionally, restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on the duration of gaming activities and access to games may adversely affect our Gaming revenue, and increased oversight of digital platform companies may adversely affect our Data Center revenue. The Chinese government may also encourage customers to purchase from our China-based competitors, or impose restrictions on the sale to certain customers of our products, or any products containing components made by our partners and suppliers. For example, the Chinese government announced restrictions relating to certain sales of products containing certain products made by Micron, a supplier of ours. As another example, an agency of the Chinese government announced an Action Plan that endorses new standards regarding the compute performance per watt and per memory bandwidth of accelerators used in new and renovated data centers in China. If the Chinese government modifies or implements the Action Plan in a way that effectively prevents us from being able to design products to meet the new standard, this may restrict the ability of customers to use some of our data center products and may have a material and adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Further restrictions on our products or the products of our suppliers could negatively impact our business and financial results.